This case study describes the support given to a British elite athlete in the build up to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The athlete had complained of breathing symptoms during high intensity training that led to a reduction in performance and premature cessation of training. Following a negative eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea challenge and observation during high intensity exercise, the athlete...

Inspiratory muscle training may have beneficial effects in certain patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Because of the lack of a home training device, normocapnic hyperpnea has rarely been used as a training mode for patients with COPD, and is generally considered unsuitable to large-scale application. To study the effects of hyperpnea training, we randomized 30 patients ...

BACKGROUND Respiratory muscle training has shown to increase strength of the respiratory muscles following a stroke. However, low duration and/or intensity of training may be responsible for the small effect size seen and/or absence of carry-over effects to an activity, e.g., walking. Therefore, an investigation of the effects of long-duration, high-intensity respiratory muscle training is warr...

This is a review of physiological and clinical aspects on training of the respiratory muscles in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Three types of exercise training have been used: strength, endurance, and co-ordination. With each type, intensity of the stimulus, specificity and the proper evaluation of the training are important. The rationale for training respiratory muscl...

[Purpose] This study evaluated the effects of inspiratory muscle training on pulmonary function, deep abdominal muscle thickness, and balance ability in stroke patients. [Subjects] Twenty-three stroke patients were randomly allocated to an experimental (n = 11) or control group (n = 12). [Methods] The experimental group received inspiratory muscle training-based abdominal muscle strengthening w...

BACKGROUND When choosing a specific inhalation device for a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patient, the internal airflow resistance and the ability of the patient to overcome it and to create an optimal inspiratory flow are essential. OBJECTIVES The purpose of the present study was to investigate: (1) the peak inspiratory flow (PIF) that a patient with COPD can generate while br...